CourtYard Gallery

In conjunction with the 2013 Martin Shallenberger Artist in Residence, Cheekwood has installed the three Martin Shallenberger paintings in the Frist Learning Center Great Hall.

The three paintings were commissioned in 1965 by the Jack Daniel Distillery of Lynchburg. They were displayed at the Distillery visitor center, and later, the Jack Daniel's sales and marketing offices between 1965 and 1986. The paintings reflect three key ingredients of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey: select grains, iron-free water from its cave spring, and maple-based charcoal to mellow the whiskey. The colors correspond to these items: brown for the grains, green for the water, and red for the fire burned to make charcoal from maple ricks. All three scenes show activities still conducted at the distillery in Lynchburg.

The brown painting shows corn, rye, or barley being unloaded from a cart pulled by a mule. Trucks carry grains to the distillery today.

The green painting shows the whiskey's water source gushing out of the cave spring and passing a life-sized statue of Jack Daniel that was located at the entrance to the cave for years.

The red painting shows how stacks of maple are burned to create charcoal for the mellowing process that distinguishes Tennessee whiskey from Bourbon. Jack Daniel's whiskey is filtered drop-by-drop through twenty feet of charcoal after distilling and before barreling.